Jacob Gibson & Hamilton BHS Looking Forward To Gillette Cup

Jacob Gibson is the Captain of the Hamilton Boys’ High School First XI cricket team and their leading run scorer this season.

When he first made the team he was batting at seven or eight. He was soon promoted to four or five due to his consistent scoring.

In January Hamilton won the Super 8 and Gibson was the leading run-maker at the tourney. He amassed 146 runs in three innings with a highest score of 70.

Hamilton won the Men’s Premier Grade Twenty/20 competition and finished runners up in the one day equivalent.

In December his team will attend the Gillette Cup finals in Christchurch where they will seek to win a fourth national title and first since 2008.

Gibson was nearly denied such success when a play fight with his older brother turned accidently nasty.
“At the start of last year I was wrestling my brother who is 20kg bigger than me. He threw me towards the TV and I hit my eye on the side. I went to work a few hours later and thought nothing of it. A couple of days later it was still sore. We went to the doctor and it turned out I had fractured my eye socket and needed an operation,” Gibson explains.

Gibson was forced out of action for months. He was apprehensive about sharing the reason for his injury with coach Chris Kuggeleijn.

“I didn’t know what I was going to tell him, but in the end I told him the truth. He was pretty angry,” Gibson laughs.

Gibson is fond of Kuggeleijn and says the hard work he puts in is a big reason for his own achievements, which include making the Northern Districts under-19 training squad and the Waikato valley Men’s and Maori teams.

“Mr Kuggeleijn puts in a lot of work. He is very knowledgeable and sets high expectations,” Gibson acclaims.

Captaining Hamilton is no laughing matter. Gibson concedes he was surprised to be appointed skipper.
“I didn’t think I was in the running at all. Once appointed however I was delighted. Captaincy has taught me to work harder and be more mindful of others,” he says.

In late April Hamilton beat St. Paul’s Collegiate by ten runs in the Waikato final to make the Gillette Cup finals which features the six leading teams in New Zealand. He is confident Hamilton will perform will at Gillette Cup.
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“I haven’t worried about who we are playing because every team will be strong. Guys to watch in our team include spinners Ravindu Pathirana and Brayden Gaylor who could be in the wickets and Bodie Hodges.”

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